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Trees that grow six times faster: Scottish indoor farm helps climate

Tree seedlings planted at an indoor vertical farm have grown six times faster than they would if they had been planted outside. These astonishing results follow a trial at a crop research center near the city of Dundee in Scotland and could be a great weapon in fighting climate change. Each tree species, which includes Scots pine, oak, alder, hazel and birch, was grown under its own "recipe" of temperature, light, soil and water. What is the European Political Community? The seedlings grown at t
RFI •

UK householders face squeeze as budget looms

Blackpool, famous for its annual Illuminations light show, is the most deprived local authority area in England

Blackpool (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Thursday's government budget is unlikely to be uppermost in the minds of people enjoying the annual light show on the seafront promenade of Blackpool.

But for residents and businesses of the town, which is ranked as England's most deprived, the expected spending cuts and tax increases could have wide-ranging consequences.

"My basic supply of eggs,
The Vibes •

Despite crisis, UK's Blackpool keeps the lights on

AT this time of year, the British coastal resort of Blackpool shows its best face by night, when one million LED lamps light up the seafront for more than six miles (10 kilometres).

After the Covid pandemic, the tourism-reliant town in northwest England was aiming for brighter times. Then the war in Ukraine and an energy-fuelled inflation crisis hit.

Even though organisations across Britain face soaring electricity bills, the Blackpool Illuminations will stay on this autumn, from early Septemb
News24 •

Scottish farmer says competition from SA makes harvest 'unviable', donates entire blueberry crop


• For more stories, go to the News24 Business front page.

A Scottish farmer is giving away his entire crop of blueberries, worth £2 million (R42 million), to charity, saying cheap imports and high labour costs have made harvesting the fruit economically unviable.

Peter Thomson has been growing blueberries at his farm in Blairgowrie, northeast Scotland, for more than four decades, producing 300 tonnes of fruit per year.

But now, he said, growers in Peru and South Africa can sell their berries
The Telegraph •

'My boy is gone. He is dead': Riots and fears of race war as South African farmers bailed over black teen's death

"They are throwing rocks at the house and are coming through the walls - please hurry," the panicked voice of a woman, speaking Afrikaans, shouts into a two way radio. Minutes later her home was in flames after being hit by petrol bombs. The attack on the Rietvlei maize farm, on the outskirts of the remote South African town of Coligny, came just half an hour after two white farmers were granted bail for the alleged murder of a 16-year-old black teenager. Pieter Doorewaard, 26 and Phillip Schutt
The Telegraph •

Oscar Pistorius's cell 'raided by prison guards' over links to crime boss

Prison officials in Pretoria confiscated a computer hard drive from paralympian sprinter Oscar Pistorius during a raid on his prison cell earlier this year, as part of an investigation into a Czech mob boss, according to reports.

The Johannesburg based Sunday Times newspaper said the raid on Pistorius’ cell in the hospital wing of Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria happened before dawn on May 15.

“We know Oscar and Krejcir were spending a lot of time together in prison, so we wanted to get to
Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels
https://www.bangkokpost.com •

Indonesian fishermen stranded in S.Africa after horror voyage

Dozens of Indonesian fishermen who spent months stranded in Cape Town's harbour, sleeping in cramped and suffocating quarters, have been taken ashore to a repatriation centre after being stuck at sea for years without pay.

The group of 75 fishermen tell of slavery-like working conditions aboard seven Taiwanese-owned vessels -- an ordeal that only grew worse when South African authorities impounded their trawlers for illegal fishing.

The crew spent three months stranded in Cape Town's Table Bay
Photo by jimmy fransiscus on Pexels

Magical Mozambique

'What do you mean you've done away with first class?" I asked the ticket vendor at Joburg's Park Station. "Third class only to Komatipoort," the man said impatiently. "We did away with first class last month."

I looked at my travel partner. She shrugged. "Two, please." The tickets to Komatipoort cost R70. Our plan was to go from there to Maputo and up the Mozambican coast by whatever means possible. We made our way onto the train and luckily found ourselves a double seat. Soon the train was pac
France 24 •

Fishermen lament plunge in Scottish wild salmon catch

Anglers on the River Spey in the Scottish Highlands say salmon numbers are down compared to 50 years ago

Charlestown of Aberlour (United Kingdom) (AFP) – In the shimmering rapids of the River Spey that cuts through the Scottish Highlands, Ian Gordon casts his line with a languid swish and waits for a salmon to take the fly.

In the early 1970s, when Gordon first fished the Spey as a "wee nipper", it never took long to catch a bite. But things have changed.

"I would say there are now 20 percent
The Star •

Wind and water: undersea drone readies to aid offshore boom

EDINBURGH: In a wave tank at a robot laboratory in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, engineers observe in silence as an underwater drone rises stealthily to the surface.

The team, which led the development of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at Heriot-Watt university, believe the submersible machine is a game-changer for offshore wind farms, obviating the need for divers.

ALSO READ: Tomorrow’s ‘Top Gun’ might have drone wingman, use AI

The engineers reckon it will soon be ready to perform in

Decline in North Sea puffins causes concern

The Isle of May, off Scotland's east coast, is home to one of the UK's biggest colonies of seabirds. Some 200,000 birds, from kittiwakes to guillemots can flock to the rocky outcrop at the height of the breeding season.

But conservationists are concerned about dwindling numbers of one of the island's most distinctive visitors—the Atlantic puffin.

"The population was really booming in the 80s and 90s and then suddenly, a crash," David Steel, a manager at the nature reserve, told AFP.

"We lost
RFI •

Game of stones: Scottish island sweeps up Olympic curling

Mauchline (United Kingdom) (AFP) – In a factory outside Ayr in southwest Scotland, James Wyllie carefully lifts and caresses a curling stone, as well-used drilling and polishing machines grind in the background.

The 40-pound (18 kilogram) stone is made from unique granite rock harvested on Ailsa Craig, about 16 kilometres (10 miles) over a wild stretch of sea to the west of the mainland.

Wyllie, 72, is the retired owner of Kays Curling, which has been making curling stones since 1851 and has t
International Business Times •

Edinburgh University Appoints First Black Rector

It's been more than 16 years since Debora Kayembe fled her home in the Democratic Republic of Congo after learning that a gun-running militia group that she had helped to expose wanted to kill her.

Since then, Kayembe sought asylum in Britain, started a family and settled in Edinburgh, where she worked as a human rights lawyer and political activist.

Despite a life filled with hardship and achievement, she said nothing could have prepared her for the message she received on the afternoon of Fe

Catching the number 1: Aberdeen trials hydrogen buses

The Scottish city of Aberdeen enjoyed a boom after the discovery of oil in the North Sea in the 1960s, propelling it to a central role in the industry.

Now it's preparing to launch a fleet of the world's first hydrogen-powered double-decker buses, as it tries to reduce air pollution and transform itself into a green economy.

The 15 vehicles emit water vapour instead of carbon monoxide and are in the final stages of testing before being put into service on the city's most popular routes.

The b

Earning its stripes: tech bid to crack tiger trade

In a town in northeastern Scotland, Debbie Banks looks for clues to track down criminals as she clicks through a database of tiger skins.

There are thousands of photographs, including of rugs, carcasses and taxidermy specimens.

Banks, the crime campaign leader for the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a London-based charity, tries to identify individual big cats from their stripes.

Once a tiger is identified, an investigator can pinpoint where it comes from.

"A tiger's stripes are as

Wind and water: undersea drone readies to aid offshore boom

In a wave tank at a robot laboratory in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, engineers observe in silence as an underwater drone rises stealthily to the surface.

The team, which led the development of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at Heriot-Watt university, believe the submersible machine is a game-changer for offshore wind farms, obviating the need for divers.

The engineers reckon it will soon be ready to perform inspections and maintenance at wind farms, transforming the nature of the high-
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